Celtic should cruise to another treble, anything else would be a disappointment, claims Dons boss Derek McInnes
Aberdeen boss Derek McInnes has heaped the pressure on Celtic by saying they should be disappointed if they do not secure back-to-back trebles this season.
McInnes pointed to the gulf in both finances and quality between Celtic and the rest of Scotland’s top flight, suggesting Celtic should comfortably win everything the country has to offer.
Aberdeen have been mightily impressive over the last several seasons under the former Rangers player. Last season the Dons mounted an admirable challenge to Celtic on behalf of the rest of the league, reaching both domestic cup finals and finishing in second place.
Unfortunately for McInnes, his side were unable to get the better of Brendan Rodgers’ men on each outing at Hampden Park, cruelly losing out on the Scottish Cup to a late Tom Rogic winner which broke the hearts of Aberdeen fans while sending the Celtic faithful into pandemonium.
Despite Celtic’s unbeaten run coming to an end after a 4-0 thrashing by Hearts, McInnes downplayed any increased confidence from the result.
“The fact they lost to Hearts doesn’t give us any extra confidence,” McInnes said according to The Times, “We know we have to be near our best to get a result while that doesn’t need to be the case for Celtic.
“It is tough. Celtic are so far ahead resources-wise that I think it would be seen as a disappointing campaign if they didn’t win a treble.
“They should be favourites in every domestic competition. It’s up to the rest to find a way to stop that and get our own clubs winning something.”
McInnes is by no means exaggerating when he speaks of the gulf in resources. Celtic recently received a healthy sum of £7.5m following Liverpool’s £75million (Scotsman) signing of Virgil van Dijk from a sell-on clause for their former player.
Aberdeen sold their finest player, Jonny Hayes, to Celtic for only £1.3m (Express) in the summer, with the former Dons talisman spending most of the time on the bench at Celtic Park prior to his December leg break.
According to McInnes, this money has already been reinvested on re-signings among other things, but this sale alone is a clear indication of the contrasting powers of each club.
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